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Author Notes: Every Greek restaurant I have ever visited serves marinated octopus as part of the mezze. I love it and will even occasionally buy it in those little tins. I decided to try my hand at it with baby octopus...they're available at my local Italian market frozen and in two pound packages... and already cleaned.These were extremely small - about 15 to the pound. By marinating them,grilling and then dressing them lightly they pair extremely well with feta and kalamatas ( and either a shot of ouzo or a glass of Roditis) Few ingredients but big flavor and a nice little chew! - inpatskitchen —inpatskitchen

Food52 Review: This recipe surprised me -- very pleasantly. The frozen octopus I purchased were roughly 3 oz each (5 per 1 lb. bag), and I marinated them for 3 hours. They were on the grill approximately five to seven minutes per side, then roughly chopped, tossed with the dressing and chilled. The flavor combination of the smokiness from the grill, acidity from the lemon, salt, pepper and bitterness of the oregano blended very nicely together, and the texture of the octopus was firm and only slightly chewy. As noted in the recipe, it does pair well with feta and calamatas, but it was also very tasty on top of greens with a squeeze of additional lemon. - LLStone —LLStone

Makes about 2 cups

For the marinade:

1/2cup extra virgin olive oil

1tablespoon dried oregano

1tablespoon salt

1/2teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients and set aside.

For the octopus

2pounds baby octopus ( about 30), thawed if frozen

Juice of one or two lemons, depending on your taste for citrus

3tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2teaspoon salt

1/2teaspoon black pepper

1teaspoon dried oregano

Combine the marinade and octopus and marinate for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator.

Grill the octopus on high heat on a gas grill in a grill pan for 3 to 5 minutes per side.

Let cool in a bowl and then drain in a colander.( the octopus exude a little juice after grilling)

Cut them up in bite size pieces and then dress them with the lemon juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano. Chill for at least an hour before serving.